SYDNEY, April 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In the Australian mining sector, reduced demand for mining products from end users such as China has led to a reduction in profit margins. To cope with the economic downturn, mining companies are looking to do more with less. They are optimizing plant performance and enhancing productivity by minimizing downtime. Lowering downtime will also help cut down operational costs. This is expected to be the key driver for the growth of the Australian condition monitoring market for the mining sector.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.testandmeasurement.frost.com), Analysis of the Australian Condition Monitoring Market for the Mining Sector, estimates that the market revenues for 2012 were in the range of $40.0 to $60.0 million and expects this to reach $119.6 million in 2017.

As condition monitoring is a relatively new technology, mining companies are not fully aware of the benefits and consider it a capital-intensive product, rather than a tool that cuts operational expenditure. Market participants have to aggressively promote the advantages their product offers to make headway in the end-user sector.

"Mining companies need to be made aware that frequent machine failures and repairs can be avoided by performing predictive maintenance using condition monitoring," saidFrost & Sullivan Measurement & Instrumentation Research Associate Vivek K Reghu. "The scaling up of automation in future mining operations is also likely to drive the demand for condition monitoring."

However, straitened circumstances and a shortfall in adequately skilled device operators may still hold back investment in the technology in the short term. Once the mining sector rebounds, end users will be more willing to adopt the system, especially cloud-based condition monitoring systems, which have a more attractive cost versus benefit than traditional technologies.

Meanwhile, reckless mining in the past has stoked concerns regarding the environment's deterioration. With the Australian government introducing the carbon tax, electricity prices are anticipated to increase by 10 to 20 percent, which will challenge the viability of mining operations. As a result, mining companies are now placing greater emphasis on addressing these issues during the project planning stage. This will lead to accelerated implementation of condition monitoring applications over the next three to five years."

Mining companies will be looking to employ best practices for environmental and energy management in the project planning stage," noted Reghu. "This translates to an opportunity for condition monitoring equipment suppliers to add energy management features to the existing product line and improve sales."

If you are interested in more information on this research, please send an email to Donna Jeremiah, Corporate Communications, at djeremiah@frost.com, with your full name, company name, job title, telephone number, company email address, company website, city, state and country.

About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants.

The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation.

The Partnership Infrastructure is entirely unique as it constructs the foundation upon which visionary innovation becomes possible. This includes our 360 degree research, comprehensive industry coverage, career best practices as well as our global footprint of more than 40 offices.

For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?